A Tattoo of One

Right now I am, for the first time ever, playing Final Fantasy VII. Actually, I had played it before, once at Seth's house and once again when I bought a shitty PC port of the game. I have no idea how I avoided playing this for so long but here I am and god damn, it's fun.

I've put in around 23 hours or so, some of that will be times that I've stepped away or managing materia and such. So far I can see real link between my Final Fantasy VI and VII. As most people know I have been a huge fan of VI for years, proudly claiming it as my favorite. I was a doubter for sure about VII. I didn't think that the game could actually live up to it's hype. It's one game though that no one should miss out on.

While check online to see other opinions I stumbled upon a lot of others claiming that the game is overhyped and read their list of complaints.

"Too old!"

"Worst graphics ever!"

"Just another stereotypical story of a lone hero..."

While I haven't even come close to beating the game, I can clearly see the influence it has on modern games. This game cast a shadow that other games have tried to break out from. To me, that seems like a great thing! It means that developers worked that much harder to make games that truly shine. Before I get off on a tangent though, I would like to clarify something.

To all of the loose argument against this game I just need to ask, does anyone remember when this game was made? Okay, the graphics are nothing like Final Fantasy VIII but consider that this game was in production at the very early days of 64-bit graphics. In fact, I think this game looks great. The summons are fantastic as well as the backgrounds. And as for claims that the game is outdated and stereotypical I am confused. Isn't there a first for everything? Even if the story has common elements as other games, so what? That's true with any medium. Dragon Ball is based of the Monkey King, Street Fighter and King of Fighters are based on martial arts, and Clueless is just a Jane Austen story! Everything in this world is built off of something else and this is even more true in games. I think that this game deserves all of the praise it's been given of the years.

Off to figure out the mystery of the Cetra...

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 4:26 PM 2 comments    

Christmas Bounty

So of the people I know on here I am the only one who owns a 360. Thanks to Father Christmas. I grabbed up 6 games and after I finish with a few projects I'll give some input. For anyone interested my 6 are: Gears of War 1 & 2, Blue Dragon, Dead Space, Fallout 3, and Bioshock. So There's what to expect.

Posted by Seth Moore at 3:25 AM 0 comments    

It's A Dream Paradox.

I think it's only right to play this later on tonight.

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 1:39 PM 0 comments    

Merry Christmas from Shoryuken!

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 1:25 PM 0 comments    

The Next Drink's On Me

Today Mega Man turns 21!  Let's all give respect to Capcom's Blue Bomber.

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 10:29 AM 0 comments    

BALLS AWESOME!

Today Konami made all of my head explode.  So, exclusive to the mobile platform, all iPhone users will be able to play:

Dance Dance Revolution Lite

Frogger

Silent Hill: The Escape

And, most important of all...

Metal Gear Solid Touch!

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 6:45 PM 1 comments    

Get Equipped with Awesome Picture

I just saw this on GoNintendo yesterday and thought it was just amazing.  It's not just awesome looking but it shows off all the master robot's weaknesses.  

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 2:20 PM 0 comments    

Zombie BBQ!

Last night I picked up Little Red Riding Hood's Zombie BBQ! for the Nintendo DS.  For $20 you can get a very solid, on-rail, twitch shooter.  Spanish dev EnjoyUp built a fantastic game that could easily pass as another Japanese import.  I think most people who check this out might have a DS already so this is one game that you shouldn't pass up.  Check out the full Play review for more!

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 12:57 PM 0 comments    

I Choose You, Norm McD!

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 5:31 PM 2 comments    

Muffins.

Christ!  Today has been so busy at wok.  I came prepared to make some ground in Dragon Quest but I don't think that's going to happen.  I just know that after Christmas I will be so bogged down and will probably forget where I'm at in the story.  Maybe I can get some time in later tonight.  It's either that or Super Smash Bros. Brawl. 

At least there were muffins today.

Delicious muffins.

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 4:34 PM 1 comments    

It's not a virus...It's evolution.

Almost done with Parasite Eve.  Now that I've been playing the first game I am really interested in the movie and the book.  I've heard that the game is only loosely related to the Square game but I still think it's worth a try.  I find it very interesting that such a notable game is based around a novel that was written only a few years prior.  It's usually the case that stories shared between book, film, and print should remain separate but not in this case.  So, hopefully I will have a chance to check both of the other works out and see what's up with them.  

Now I've just got to decide if I want to drop $40 on a copy of Parasite Eve 2...

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 4:19 PM 0 comments    

Good Weather for Melodrama

Christ, all this rain is killing me.  If it's not the inability to walk anywhere downtown, it's the fucking retarded drivers on 85.  Hard to believe a little water added 20 minutes to my commute.  If today is slow, expect me to churn out a few things for you kids to read.

All this rainy weather has me in the mood for a great RPG.  Maybe I'll pick Persona 4 up on the way hone tonight...

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 9:39 AM 4 comments    

Golden Sun: The Lost Age Review

Golden Sun: The Lost Age Review

Back in 2003 GBA fans all over were graced with one of the Gameboy Advance's greatest RPGs. Golden Sun: The Lost Age, the sequel to 2001's Golden sun, Continued the tried and true formula while expanding its scope. It took the best of old school Final Fantasy and incorporated a great class structure and battle system. Let me break the game down for you.

Story:
The story continues where the first game left off. A group of magic users (adepts) left their hometown to stop a group bent on unleashing chaos on the world. The group of villains, led by Alex, stole the elemental stars from the adepts village of Vail. The villains, who captured a childhood a few childhood friends of the heroes and turned one of them to the bad side, use the stars to light the 4 elemental lighthouses. The Lost Age picks up right as the second one is lit. The player assumes the role as Felix, the boy from vail that joined Alex. He travels along side of his sister Jenna and Sheba, a shy wind adept. During their journey the get to travel the world and see how life has changed due to the lit lighthouses. Felix wants to continue lighting the towers while the heroes of the first game try to stop him.

Ultimately both groups clash together late in the game and join forces as the head for the finale.

Gameplay:
This game is HUGE. The battles are EPIC. Now that i have simply explained the two sides of gameplay to you let me expound upon them. The world that you will explore in this game is massive. The amount of territory to explore in this game is equal to any 2 or 3 early Final Fantasy games combined. The player will go from snow covered mountains to lost cities surrounded by a huge sea. The first play through could easily take you 55+ hours, and that is just the story. The locals switch up constantly keeping everything fresh, but not so often they feel inserted for the heck of it.

Battles on the other hand are a love it or hate it affair. Anyone who loves the old-school turn based Final Fantasy formula will love it. When a battle begins you are presented with your characters and the enemies in a pseudo-3d view. The player is then given the option to fight flee or check stats. Upon selecting attack the player is given further options of: attack, psyenergy (magic), items, Djinn (summons), items, or defend. Attack is your basic affair. Your character attacks and damage is based upon their strength plus the weapons strength and attributes. Psyenergy is where the game shines. Scratch that, its what the game is built upon. Psyenergy is the magic used for puzzles out of battle and everything else in battles. Characters selection is based upon their class. This is based upon what Djinn they have equipped. Djinn are elemental creatures that were let loose upon the stealing of the elemental stars. Characters can mix and match their Djinn to change stats and class. Every class has specific psyenergy that it can use. A combination of pure earth Djinn will result in attacks like Earthquake and Spire, while water Djinn will result in Cure and Blizzard.

Aesthetic:
For a GBA game this game is beautiful. Screenshots look amazing, but still do not do the game justice. The world map is massive and is brightly colored. The battles pseudo-3d art style is just gorgeous for a 2003 handheld game. The summons are worth looking up on youtube if you don't plan on playing the game. The music for the game is equally as beautiful. It might only be MIDI, but it will still evoke emotion.

Final Thoughts:
Play this game. Nough said. You will not be disappointed.
Story 8/10
Gameplay 9.5/10
Aesthetic 10/10 (for GBA)
Overall 9.5/10

Posted by jmontygman at 5:48 PM 0 comments    

Bustin' Makes Me Feel Good!

It may well be that the extended break forced upon the Ghostbusters game did a whole world of good. While the physics and tech demos looked solid enough to satisfy me as a Ghostbuster fan, I could see how a casual gamer may pass it up.

The boys and girls at Terminal Reality deserve a pat of the back. They really spit-shined this baby into something legitimate. The style's much more prevalent as the rich colors really stand out and allow for the writers to excel with playing at offbeat comedy combined with moderate scares.

It's also the first time we really get to see Ray, Egon, Winston, and Spengler in action, all voiced by the original actors. As it stands, the following video doesn't just look like a hell of a fun game, but a bona fide Ghostbusters 3 trailer.

555-0000

Posted by Myles Griffin at 2:50 PM 1 comments    

Terror

Posted by Bryant Jackson at 6:21 PM 2 comments    

The Only Fantasy Here is Value

After a discussion of SNES vs. PS1 RPGs last night with Bryant I mentioned that I was going to check out some ebay auction for PS1 games.

The system bore many games, one could say too many when you check the use of its bullshit meter. While plenty of mediocre and below games slithered their way into plenty of disc trays, there was also plenty of good stuff.

So I set out to quell my curiosity and possibly lighten my wallet when I discover the terrible judgment on pricing. Most lots contained bland games and were anywhere from $10 to $20 for 10 to 30 games. Fine. Anything with Final Fantasy in the name was anywhere from $60 to $80, pushing up to $200. I own most of these, yes, would I ever try to unload them onto a collector for that much. Fuck No.

Yes, Final Fantasy seems to be the top RPG series in the U.S. Yes, the games are fun and hold up with time. But they were made in such abundance. Copies of Final Fantasy VII are like stars in the sky. Bundling Final Fantasy VIII, seen as one of the weaker ones by fans (Sorry Myles), doesn't warrant the price to be that of a new-gen console.

I won't even get into how these lots still hold their price when the description informs you that you'll only get disc 2 and 3 of a 4 disc set. Or mention that the "Original RARE" Metal Gear Solid which is missing the first disc is still obviously a great buy for $20.

All I'll say is Fucking Idiots.

Posted by Seth Moore at 3:48 PM 2 comments    

Apologies...

Sorry to everyone for being M.I.A. last week and the lack of posting. Thanksgiving really didn't impede me much, but a brutally hectic work schedule (Fuck you, Black Friday) and the unexpected death of my friend, Crystal, kept my attention elsewhere.

I mention all these things for one specific reason: to make Bryant look like an asshole for his post below.

I like to think I succeeded.

We'll now return to our regularly scheduled programming.

More on Crystal over at my blog.

Posted by Myles Griffin at 9:45 AM 0 comments